The History of Cash
Registers – The Origins
James
Ritty a local US store owner invented
the cash register in 1879. He had always
experienced problems, because some of his
employees would help themselves to his daily
earnings. In order to find a solution, he
endeavored to invent the cash register. It
prevented his employees from opening the cash
drawer so easily without him knowing, because
the cash register would ring a bell after each
transaction or when his staff opened the
drawer. Because of its high pitched sound,
the cash register bell has humerously been
referred to as the "bell heard round the
world".
Today, cash registers are most
commonly found in retail stores. They are
used to store transactional data, calculate
price and change, as well as provide different
payment options to the customer.
After reading a
description of the cash register designed by
James Ritty and sold by the National
Manufacturing Company, John H. Patterson decided
to buy both the company and the patent. He
renamed the company the National Cash Register
Company in 1884. In addition, John
Patterson improved the cash register by adding a
paper roll to record sales transactions.
His successors would later introduce the first
cash register motor.
